Bucks' Kidd, Antetokounmpo take March honors
ST. FRANCIS - Jason Kidd and Giannis Antetokounmpo swept the Eastern Conference honors for the month of March, with Kidd being named the coach of the month and the Greek Freak taking the player honors, the NBA announced Monday.
Kidd and Antetokounmpo were honored after leading the Bucks to a 14-4 record in March, the third-most wins in a month in franchise history.
The Bucks lost their first game in March in an embarrassing display against the Denver Nuggets. But after the coaches ran the players through a grueling practice the next day, Milwaukee went 14-3 the rest of the month, including 4-2 on a long road trip that included Memphis and the West Coast.
The only better months in Bucks history came in 1971, the season the team won its only NBA championship. The Bucks posted 16 wins in February 1971 and 15 in January that year, led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson and Bobby Dandridge.
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Antetokounmpo said last week in Charlotte that the Bucks were playing the best basketball since he joined the franchise in 2013. The 6-foot-11 forward became the first Bucks player named to the league monthly honor since Michael Redd was named in January 2004. Antetokounmpo averaged 22.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.4 steals.
He is seeking to become the first player in NBA history to rank in the top 20 in all five categories.
"You look at Giannis, he has filled up the stat sheet," Kidd said after the Bucks practice session at the Cousins Center on Monday. "He understands what we're asking him to do and he is delivering on a consistent basis. This time of the year, your star players tend to rise the occasion. You see that across the league, and Giannis is no exception."
The last Bucks coach to win a coach of the month honor was Scott Skiles in February 2010.
Milwaukee began March with a 26-32 record and finished it at 40-36 and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
"The coach of the month award is basically telling the players that they're doing a great job," Kidd said. "They put themselves in this position. When things didn't look good, they stayed together and kept believing and trusting in one another, and they executed the game plan and put themselves in the playoff race."
The Bucks (40-37) will continue their playoff pursuit Tuesday night when they open a three-game trip in Oklahoma City. Milwaukee has a magic number of two over Indiana to clinch a playoff spot. The Bucks play at Indiana on Thursday and at Philadelphia on Saturday.
Kidd said Malcolm Brogdon (back tightness) and John Henson (sprained left thumb) will not play in the first game of the trip but could join the team later if they are cleared to play.
Brogdon and Henson did not travel with the team on Monday.
Brogdon will miss his third straight game since playing a starring role in the Bucks' 103-100 victory at Boston on Wednesday. Henson will be out for the seventh consecutive game since injuring his thumb in Portland on March 21.
The Bucks-Thunder game will be televised by ESPN at 7 p.m. Tuesday and feature Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook trying to tie Robertson's record of 41 triple-doubles in a season. Robertson set the NBA mark during the 1961-'62 season when he played for the Cincinnati Royals.